TO DO LIST
Eric Wesley installing. All images courtesy of Bortolami Gallery.
BORTOLAMI GALLERY BRINGS CONCEPTUAL ARTIST,
ERIC WESLEY’S WORK TO THE DALLAS ART FAIR.
produced this form to manage my life,” says Los Angeles-based conceptual artist, Eric Wesley. He adds, “I didn’t
have artwork in mind to start with.” The form in question
is for the Daily Progress Status Report that he began using
about four years ago. Two years ago, he began the process of
translating this into art, using it as the basis for his DPS painting
series. These works, represented by New York’s Bortolami
Gallery, make their local debut at this year’s Dallas Art Fair.
The DPS works are rooted in the mundane job of list-making. Each morning, Wesley fills one of these in. It is an hour-by-hour schedule, with the date on top. There is even a box to
check upon completion. Sometimes the forms are filled in with
actual tasks. Often they serve as a backdrop for sketches, fruit
stains, and other ephemera of life in the studio. Next, he lays
that paper, regular copier grade, onto a light box. In addition to
illuminating the list, it also shows the grain of the paper. Using
this as a template, Wesley creates large paintings on brushed
aluminum that he then bolts to canvas. According to gallerist
Stefania Bortolami, the aluminum replicates paper in that it
can be manipulated in the same way. Corners of several DPS
paintings are folded or torn. Wesley originally planned to create
about 30 of these paintings, one for each day that the work is
typically on the walls during a gallery exhibition. Since most art
fairs run for three days, that is how many DPS paintings will
be in the fair.
For Wesley, these paintings go beyond a replication of his
daily schedule. He cites Renaissance artists Leonardo da Vinci
and Piero della Francesca as major influences, particularly their
use of sfumato. This art historical term describes atmospheric
effects that create imperceptible gradations of light. He says,
“At the moment, I am really into the ether stage: the reflection
and refraction of light due to paper and how I relate that onto
the metal.” To achieve this effect, he uses a variety of media,
from oil and enamel to airbrush. The diethyl ether in the
airbrush creates “a physical connection between the picture
plane and my body,” he adds. However, unlike the work of the
Renaissance, Wesley’s aim is not to perfect nature. “A lot of
pictures have stains or soils, or they’re torn. It is the idea of the
accident. That’s the art,” he explains.
“The DPS have entertainment value, which I really
appreciate,” says Wesley. Lest anyone construe conceptual art as
a purely intellectual exercise, this is a sentiment Wesley repeats
often. His humor also shines forth in an earlier installation
work, “D’Cartes Blanche.” Yes, there is a reference to French
philosopher René Descartes in there. Beyond the play on words
the work is an amalgamation of formalism, engineering, and
philosophy.
For this project, Wesley designed three small, white
“I